An afternoon in Paris

After a few rather emotional days in Finland, I was kind of happy to make my way back to France, to get a new perspective on things.

I actually flew to Paris, rather than Nice, from where the plan was to travel down to Auvergne with Philippe, Aniko and little Elize, where we were spending new year together with a bunch of friends.

My flight arrived rather early, so I had quite a few hours to kill in Paris before making my way to Versailles, where Philippe and Aniko live. My bus arrived at Montparnasse, which was pretty much perfect, as it's one of the best places in Paris for eating (well, pretty much any area in Paris is good when it comes to food, I suppose...).

After rambling about a bit in this rather picturesque part of Paris (taking in views of the imposing Tour de Montparnasse, and crossing the famous cemetery). I ended up in a nice little bistrot called Le Parc des Cerfs. Perfect little place for a quiet solo lunch - I was treated to excellent service, and most importantly, the food was excellent.

The plan was to meet up with Philippe at Gare de Lyon, which is near to where he works, and head back to Versailles with him. The area around Gare de Lyon is a part of Paris I don't know very well, so I decided to jump on the bus and head that way straight away to explore a bit. After dropping off my bag in a luggage locker, I headed off to have a walk around the area. I ended up in Bastille (yes, the very same place where the French revolution sort of started), a nice and rather lively area, perfect for a stroll around (I realize I'm repeating myself, but pretty much anywhere in Paris is perfect for strolling about, of course).

I then made my way down to the Seine river, and since I still had a bit of time before my rendez-vous with Philippe, I decided to walk up towards Ile-de-Paris and Notre-Dame. It was a rather stunning walk esthetically speaking, with the sun setting over the Seine and the silhouette of Notre Dame looming ahead of me. There definitely is something magical about Paris - every time I visit I sort of fall in love with the place all over again.

And then, before I knew it, it was time for me to head back to Gare de Lyon, from where me and Philippe took the train back to Versaille. We spent rather a nice night chatting away in Aniko and Philippe's flat, enjoying some nice food and wine. And of course I got to meet the lovely Elize again, whose rather grown up since the last time we met ;)

And then, the next morning, Auvergne here we come!